Reassignment...

The Liberian Mission has been shut down due to the Ebola outbreak and I have been reassigned to the Ghana Kumasi mission.  I finally got my new call packet last week.  I will leave for the Provo MTC on September 3.


I am excited to serve the people in Ghana. 


I am posting my farewell talk that I gave recently.


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I am going to start today with an update on my mission.

            This last week has been an emotional roller coaster.  Last Friday we learned that the Ebola virus in parts of West Africa, including Liberia, was spreading faster than it could be contained.  We read in the Deseret news that the church had shut down the Sierra Leone and Liberian missions.  After reading that news article, I felt a lot of uncertainty and anticipation, not knowing what was going to happen with me or where and when I was going.  But at the same time, I felt a calmness because I knew that everything would be taken care of.  For the next 2 days, I tried to keep that same feeling of calmness and not let the uncertainty overwhelm me.  By my attitude, I was able to help my Mom maintain her calmness, and not fall into feelings of despair and worry.  When Monday came, my mom was on the phone for hours with the missionary department trying to find someone who knew what was going to happen with me and whether I needed to run out and buy new items.  We found out later that afternoon from President Peterson, that I will be going to the Ghana, Kumasi mission on September 3, and that I will be going to the Provo MTC.  I could really feel the spirit during this time keeping me calm and keeping away my uncertain thoughts and feelings.  When I first received my call to Liberia, the hymn, “I’ll go where you want me to go” had new meaning to me, but now as I have been reassigned to Ghana, it has even more meaning.  Heavenly Father knows where I am needed and I will go wherever he will send me.

Now I will continue with my previously prepared talk.

            Since I was about 12 years, I have babysat 3 of my cousins.  When I got my call, Emma, the youngest, pointed out to her mom that I would miss her baptism I if I went on a mission.  She has reminded me of that fact a lot since I received my call.  She’s not happy about it.  So today I want to address my talk to her.  Emma, these are the reasons I have chosen to serve a mission and serve the people in Ghana and why I’m going to miss your baptism.

            I am going to serve a mission because I have a testimony of the restored gospel and I want to share it with all those who are desirous to hear the Lord’s message.  When I was in Primary, I loved to sing the song “I hope they call me on a mission”.  My teachers and leaders were always trying to excite us about missionary work.  I remember one lesson where we were told to draw pictures of where we wanted to go on a mission.  I drew a picture of Australia, the Empire State Building, and a rainforest.  I think that I got pretty close to one of those.  Those activities made me excited to be a missionary and looked forward to the day when I would become one.

            But as I got older, I became less and less enthusiastic about missionary work.  I got to the point where I wasn’t sure If I was going to serve a mission or not.  I remember when President Monson lowered the age limit for missionaries.  I was mowing my grandma’s lawn at the time and listening to conference on the radio.  When President Monson made the announcement, I turned off the lawn mower and just stood there stunned.  Everyone that I talked to for the next month or two all told me the same thing about how they felt about the change.  They were so excited and had such confirming feelings that they should go on missions.  But when I was standing there, I felt different.  I was scared and overwhelmed.  I had planned on going to school for a year and go out at 19 like everyone else did.  But now, I had one less year and was 1 ½ years from being able to leave.  I became a fence sitter about going on a mission and going to school.  When people would ask me if I was going to go on a mission after high school, or ask if I would be starting my mission papers soon, I would answer “probably” and would leave it at that.  Around the beginning of this year, I decided that I could not say “I will probably go on a mission” anymore.  I had to choose if I was going to go on a mission or not.  About that time, the stake took all of the young men into Salt Lake and into the church office building to see the mission department and the room where the calls were made.  Being in that room helped excite me about missionary work and made me want to start work on my papers.  During this time, my uncle would drive me home after I had babysat my cousins, and he would often tell me stories about things that happened on his mission.  Listening to those stories helped to spark excitement toward my mission.  When the bishop opened up my mission papers, he challenged me to pray about whether to serve a mission or not.  I tried it that night, even though I knew it was the right thing to do.  I never did get an overwhelming feeling saying “Warner, you will go on a mission”.  I thought maybe in my nightly scripture study, something would jump out saying it was the right thing to do.  I never found anything.  Later, I remembered that in my patriarchal blessing, which I got a few weeks earlier, I was told that I would serve a full time mission.  I had gotten an answer to my prayer about if going on a mission was right, just not immediately or in a spectacular way.

            But even with the motivation to go on a mission, I still felt inadequate and unprepared, I was 18 years old and not even out of high school.  In an interview with the BBC, President Hinckley was asked a question about the young missionaries in London. 

“‘How do you expect people to listen to these callow youth?’

In case some of you do not know the meaning of callow, it means immature, inexperienced, lacking sophistication.

I replied to the reporter with a smile, ‘Callow youth?  It is with these missionaries today as it was with Timothy in the days of Paul.  It was Paul who wrote to his young companion, saying, ‘let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity’

The remarkable thing is that people do receive them and listen to them.  They are wholesome. They are bright, they are alert, they are upstanding, they are clean looking, and people quickly develop confidence in them’

They are a miracle

‘Callow youth?’  Yes, they are lacking in sophistication.  What a blessing this is.  They carry no element of deception. They speak no element of sophistry.  They speak out of their hearts, with personal conviction.  Each is a servant of the living God, an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Their power comes not of their learning in the things of the world.  Their power comes of faith, and prayer, humility.”

            Because I know of my inadequacies, these are the areas that I have continued to work on to prepare for a mission.

            The first is how to act like a missionary. L Tom Perry said,

            “You must recognize that missionary service is emotionally demanding.  Your support system is going to be withdrawn from you as you leave home and go out into the world.  Many of the ways you use now to cope with emotional stress – like hanging out with friends, going off by yourself, playing video games, or listening to music – are not allowed by the rules of missionary conduct.  There will be days of rejection and disappointment. Learn now about your emotional limits, and learn how to control your emotions under the circumstances you will face as a missionary.  By doing this, you raise the bar to greater heights and, in effect, fortify yourself against emotional challenges during your missionary service.”

            He goes on to say,

            “…Prospective missionaries also must be prepared with the social skills needed to serve a mission.    More and more, young people are isolating themselves from others by playing video games; wearing headphones; and interacting through cell phones, e-mail, text messaging, and so on instead of in person,.  Much of missionary work involves relating face-to-face with people, and unless you set the bar higher in the development of your social skills, you will find yourself underprepared.  Let me offer a simple suggestion: get a job that involves interacting with people.  As an increased motivation, set a goal to earn enough money from your part- or full-time work to pay for at least a significant part of your mission, I promise great blessings – social, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual blessings – to every young man who pays for a significant part of his mission.”

            As many of you know, I am not a big talker.  Making conversation is not one of my strong suits.  But recently, I had a job where I worked at a garden center.  It involved talking to customers and listening to them.  I helped explain how to use the products they needed.  It made me have to leave my comfort zone and talk with people.  I still do not talk very much, but I have become more comfortable with it.

            Being able to work hard is another attribute of a missionary.  President Ezra Taft Benson said, “One of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work.  If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people; and he will be happy.  There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry.  That’s the secret – work, work, work.  There is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work.”

            Ever since I was a kid, my parents have taught me how to work and to enjoy work.  There was one occasion where my dad asked me to edge the lawn and I pulled an annoyed, “why do I have to do it, I don’t want to” face.  Because of that look I gave him, it became my job to edge the lawn every week for years after that.  That experience taught me to do any kind of work I’m asked and to find enjoyment in it.  Elder Tingey from the Quorum of the Seventy once said, “Learn how to work, be willing to get up early in the morning, work hard all day, and retire on time. As you prepare for you mission, learn how to work.”

             In that same talk by Elder Tingey, he talked about paying your tithes and offerings as a way to prepare for a mission.  “Pay you tithes and offerings so that you can bear witness of this great principle of the gospel.  Save money so that you can serve a mission.  A mission is not free, and each missionary should expect to financially contribute towards the cost of his mission.”

            When I was 12, I started mowing my grandma’s lawn.  I started to save money to pay for a mission.  Before I did anything with the money, I always made sure to set aside tithing money first.  Missionary work is similar to a tithe of your life.  When you serve a devoted 2 year mission, you are giving back 10% of the first 20 years of your life, to the Lord.  President Hinckley said,

“Of course your time is precious, and you may feel you cannot afford two years.  But I promise you that the time you spend in the mission field, if those years are spent in dedicated service, will yield a greater return on investment than any other two years of your lives.  You will come to know what dedication and consecration mean.  You will develop powers of persuasion which will bless your entire life. Your timidity, your fears, your shyness will gradually disappear as you go forth with boldness and conviction.  You will learn to work with others, to develop a spirit of teamwork.  The cankering evil of selfishness will be supplanted by a sense of service to others.  You will draw nearer to the Lord than you likely will in any other set of circumstances.  You will come to know that without His help you are indeed weak and simple, but that with His help you can accomplish miracles.”

When we pay tithing, we are promised more blessings then we have room to receive.  Elder Faust says a similar thing about missionary work.

“Now, my dear friends, missionary work is not easy.  In fact, it is often quite difficult. But the Lord is the greatest paymaster in the world.  Dedicated missionary service is one of life’s most fulfilling experiences.  This is in large measure because of the divine agency which flows so richly from the Lord to His humble and obedient servants to bless the lives of others.  I know this because I have seen it manifested in the lives of thousands and have felt it in my own life.”

Another way I have prepared for a mission is to avoid contention.  A way I have come to do this is to ignore something that annoys me.  If someone around me is being irritating, like a family member or a co-worker, I can just ignore whatever is being irritating and move on from it.  Sometimes the mission rules may be hard to follow, but you shouldn’t complain about them or the mission president who presides over you.  Elder Faust said, “Your mission president is the Lord’s representative.  Do not criticize or demean him, privately or publicly.  If you will respect his authority, be obedient, humble, teachable, and follow the mission rules, you will be a successful missionary.”

The mission rules may seem unnecessary and hard to follow at times, but there are great blessings in following them.  In my patriarchal blessing, I was promised protection from harm, if I followed the mission rules.  Even with the Ebola outbreak in Liberia, I was never worried about it because the mission president had set strict rules to keep the elders safe.

Another form of contention that can happen on a mission is contention between companionships.  During elders quorum a few months ago, Jordan Harvartson gave an example of a goal he had on his mission.  He said that he never wanted to have a bad companion.  Elder Faust also said, “Never permit contention in your companionships.  Some of your missionary companions will be your life’s dearest friends.  Be the kind of companion you would like to be with.  Be unselfish in your relationship with your companions.  When there is contention, the spirit of the Lord will depart, regardless of who is at fault.”

Since Jordan shared his goal, it has stuck with me and I would like to make it my goal as well.

Studying and pondering the scriptures is another element of missionary work that I needed to work on.  Reading the scriptures had always seemed like a chore or an assignment to me, and during seminary, I treated it like an assignment.  I would read a chapter or two every day during the school year, often skipping through verses in order to get it over faster.  Then during the summer, I would get out of the habit of reading them.  I did not like reading the scriptures.  Then, last summer, the Bishop challenged us to read the Book of Mormon.  When I started, I went into it with my own challenge.  I wanted to read it fully and without skipping.  I wanted to be able to read it for a reason other than because I had to.  In Doctrine and Covenants 11:21, the Lord tells us, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.”

When I first entered priests quorum, Jad Howell was focusing our lessons on Preach My Gospel.  During our mutual activities, we would do missionary role playing.  I did not enjoy reading in Preach my Gospel or doing role playing, but now looking back, I am grateful for the opportunity to do it.

During those years I spent trying not to read my scriptures, I can now see how Satan was telling me it was work and not interesting.

Satan will always throw opposition in the way of missionary work.  He knows that it is the key to the gathering of Israel.  I was in a low spot of my life when trying to decide if I should go on a mission.  I remember one night a thought came into my head saying that I would be a terrible missionary.  Instantly, red flags appeared in my mind.  I recognized that feeling as Satan, trying to dissuade me from leaving on a mission.  President Hinckley once said this about missionaries facing opposition, “They recognize that fear comes not from God but from the adversary of truth.”

The last thing that is needed when preparing for a mission is having a firm testimony.  Elder M Russell Ballard once said, “We expect you to have an understanding and a solid testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.  We expect you to work hard. We expect you to be covenant makers and covenant keepers.  We expect you to be missionaries to match our glorious message.”

Something I remember when I was first gaining a testimony was every year around Easter time, my mom would tape up pictures of what Christ did each day, the week before Easter Sunday.  It started with his entrance into Jerusalem and by Sunday we would have a large row of pictures covering the wall.  Each day, at breakfast, my mom would read the events for that day in the Savior’s life which helped me gain a greater understanding and love for my Savior.  Speaking of Breakfast, Elder Tingey gives excellent advice on how to best prepare for a mission.

“I thought you might be interested in several statistics shared with me during a recent visit to the MTC.  In one month the missionaries consume over 5,000 pounds of dry cereal.  That is over 2 ½ tons.  Of that amount, 2,200 pounds is Lucky Charms.  Lucky Charms is a popular breakfast dry cereal.  Maybe one of the best preparations for being a missionary is to eat Lucky Charms.  For you parents who try to focus you young men’s eating habits on what you may consider is more nutritious food, you might be aware that in one month missionaries consumed only 16 pounds of All Bran.”

Apparently, eating Lucky Charms greatly helps in you mission preparation.  I was eating them just this last week.

On that wall, my Mom would also tape up the Articles of Faith for us to memorize.  Before I turned 16, she taped up the sacrament prayers for me to become familiar with.  All of these things have helped me to gain an increased testimony of the gospel.

Elder Ballard said, “What we need now is the greatest generation of missionaries in the history of the Church.  We need worthy, qualified, spiritually energize missionaries who, like Helaman’s 2,000 stripling warriors, are ‘exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity’ and who are ‘true at all times in whatsoever thing they are entrusted’”

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, “Our missionaries are going forth to different nations;… the standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; … but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independently till it has penetrated every continent, visit every clime swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

So in closing, Emma, I hope that I helped you understand why I will be missing your baptism.  I hope you can see the preparations I’ve made to serve the Lord and the reasons that I’m going on a mission in Ghana, or Liberia, or wherever the Lord wants me to go.

 

I want to bear my testimony.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on earth.  I know this because I have read and prayed about it.  Because I know the Book of Mormon is true, I also know that that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and translated the Book of Mormon and restored the Christ’s church.  I also know that President Monson is a true prophet and that he holds all of the keys of the priesthood.  I want to thank my teachers for teaching me these truths throughout my life.  I have a testimony of fasting and prayer.  I have been given help and guidance by doing both of these things.  I have a testimony of temples.  I have enjoyed the opportunity to go to the temple these last couple months.  I know that my mission call is from my Heavenly Father and that He will help and guide me to those who are desirous to learn of His gospel.